Pasadena Playhouse's TWELVE ANGRY MEN Opens Today

The Pasadena Playhouse is currently presenting Reginald Rose's classic drama TWELVE ANGRY MEN, the second production of its 2013 - 2014 Season. The show began previews November 5 and will continue through December 1, 2013, officially opening tonight, November 10.

Comprised of black and white actors, the cast of TWELVE ANGRY MEN for The Playhouse presentation features (in alphabetical order):

"I am tremendously excited about beginning the journey of discovery on this all-too-timely and still contemporary play with this gifted cast of actors, many of them returning to our theatre. I hope that our production will incite conversations about racial issues, perception, and discrimination that are at the center of this work," said Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director of The Pasadena Playhouse, who is also directing the production. "Our production will mirror the very challenges that we face on a daily basis as we still search for ways to comfortably exist 'in the same room' together. This diverse and strongly distinctive cast will find those resonances in the play and bring them to our stage in order to instigate that conversation."

The press opening night on November 10 will also be the 7th Annual Pasadena Playhouse Wells Fargo Theatrical Diversity Project fundraising event. The Diversity Award honoree for 2013 is Wren Brown, Founding Director of Ebony Repertory Theatre. These events have raised over half a million dollars since the 2005 inception. These funds are used to support Playhouse Diversity Initiatives, The Pasadena Playhouse's vision to build a legacy of artistic and theatrical diversity through eclectic programming, outreach and education programs, HOTHOUSE (The Playhousenew play development program), and continued efforts for expanded audience engagement.

TWELVE ANGRY MEN unfolds in a New York City courtroom on a sweltering August evening in 1955 as a jury files into a deliberation room. They are tasked with determining the verdict in a murder case in which a young man is accused of killing his father. The young man faces the death penalty if found guilty. These dozen nameless men find themselves in the role of potential executioner, but first they must face themselves, their biases and their own sense of justice. What starts as an open-and-shut case soon twists into an edge-of-your-seat drama as each juror begins to question how he should cast his vote.

First created as a 1954 teleplay for the Studio One anthology television series, TWELVE ANGRY MEN aired as a CBS live production on September 20, 1954. The following year, Rose adapted TWELVE ANGRY MEN as a stage play. In 1957 it was rewritten again as a feature film and directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Henry Fonda, the film received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Over the years, the play has received several noted revivals including a 2004 Broadway production starring Boyd Gaines and Philip Bosco and a 2007 US national tour starring George Wendt and Richard Thomas. And in 1997, TWELVE ANGRY MEN returned to the small screen in a new adaptation directed by William Friedkin, which included some modernizations to the script and a cast led byGeorge C. Scott and James Gandolfini.

TWELVE ANGRY MEN will play November 5 - December 1, 2013, with a press opening night on November 10, at 5:00 p.m. The Pasadena Playhouse is located at 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101. The performance schedule is Tuesday through Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; andSunday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available by calling The Pasadena Playhouse at 626-356-7529 or by visiting ThePasadena Playhouse Box Office, Tuesday - Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. during non-performance dates. On performance dates the Box Office is open Tuesday - Saturday from 1:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org.